The committee approved staff recommendations to submit two federal grant applications for solid‑waste infrastructure and to support plastics‑reduction pilot programs, staff said.

Pablo Hernández and Mary Benson, program staff, described the grants as commonly used to fund citywide waste and electronic‑waste events. “Estos eventos han tomado lugar... veinte cuatro eventos, ocho por año,” Benson said, and staff said the grants would support resuming and expanding district events and pilot projects tied to a plastics reduction motion the council adopted on Oct. 1, 2024.

Nut graf: Staff told the committee the grants would fund recurring community waste events and potential pilot programs to reduce single‑use plastics; if funded, implementation would be done in partnership with community organizations.

Councilmembers asked whether the city or community partners would implement the grants; staff said the city would pursue partnerships with community organizations to deliver outcomes. The committee voted to approve staff moving forward with the applications.

Ending: Staff thanked councilmembers and said the committee will have future opportunities to discuss emergency recovery and program rollout with the Water and Power Department.